Up to Fate
by productivelyfun
Summary: A one shot between Lizzie and Mr Bennet, about Darcy and over a tub of ice cream.


Lizzie sat on the couch in the den, wrapped tightly in a quilt with her legs folded under her, holding a cup of lukewarm tea gently in her hands. The light from the television bounced off the walls of the darkened room, and outside she could hear the rain colliding with the window. Every now and then there was a rumble of thunder somewhere off in the distance, but apart from that the house was completely quiet.

She had given up on sleeping around an hour ago and had decided to put a DVD on as a means of distraction. It wasn't the weather that was keeping her awake, but rather the emotions that she had been bottling up inside her for the past few weeks. God, there were _so many emotions,_ and Lizzie was at a loss for which one to deal with first.

Her thoughts always came back to one person though. One very tall, quiet gentleman, with a voice that sounded like velvet, and eyes the colour of a summer sky. She had no idea when she had started thinking about Darcy with such positive adjectives, but long gone were the days of her referring to him as a soulless, joyless newsie. Indeed, she had a much more pleasant opinion of him these days.

Not that any of it mattered now. Any chance they ever had of being together had been taken away from them in a heartbeat. Or rather, in a phone call. Now Lizzie was plagued with a series of "_what if's_" continually running through her head, and dreams that always seemed to feature those clear blue eyes.

Lizzie shook herself out of her thoughts once again, and forced herself to focus on the movie playing in front of her.

_"_ _So it's not gonna be easy. It's gonna be really hard. We're gonna have to work at this every day, but I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you, forever, you and me, every day…"_

Lizzie sighed, and threw off the quilt, and wandered toward into the kitchen, temporarily abandoning the couch. The sound of her footsteps echoed in the hallway, and she didn't bother turning on the lights. Twenty odd years of living in the same house meant that she knew every inch of the hallways and rooms without the need for physical light.

Once she reached the kitchen, Lizzie carefully placed her tea cup on the sink, before grabbing a spoon from the drawer and extracting a tub of Connoisseur Ice Cream from the depths of the freezer. Without bothering to grab a bowl, she walked over to the bench, and perched herself on one of the stools, before stabbing at the ice cream with her spoon.

The sweetness of the ice cream swept over her tongue, and sent shivers down her spine. Over the past few weeks, Lizzie's appetite had all but vanished, and she found herself seeking comfort from the ice cream container around the same time every other evening.

Lizzie was going back for her third spoonful when she heard shuffling footsteps approaching the door. Lizzie turned her head, and waited until a dark figure appeared in the doorframe.

"Ah, so _you're _the ice cream thief," a deep voice said softly.

The kitchen light flickered above her, bathing the room in a fluorescent glow. Mr. Bennet walked into the kitchen, adjusting the narrow silver spectacles that sat on the bridge of his nose, and gazed down at his daughter.

"Guilty," replied Lizzie, smiling half heartedly at her father. He patted her shoulder affectionately, before also retrieving a spoon from the kitchen draw. Sitting down on a stood next to Lizzie, he pulled the ice cream container towards him, and dug out a large spoonful.

"And here I was, blaming your mother," Mr. Bennet replied with a grin, popping the ice cream in his mouth. "Of course, I never believed her when she said she didn't like English Toffee ice cream. Turns out she was telling the truth the entire time. Who would have thought?"

A hint of a smile passed over Lizzie's face. She took another mouthful of ice cream before passing the container back towards her father.

"I'm sorry if I woke you," Lizzie apologized, "I couldn't sleep."

"Seems to be a regular occurrence these days," Mr. Bennet stated, "What's on your mind, love?"

Lizzie fiddled with her spoon, and shook her head.

"Nothing," she replied breathlessly.

Lizzie's father looked at her quizzically, while digging out another spoonful of ice cream.

"If it were nothing, you wouldn't be awake right now. I believe my question should not have been _what _was on your mind, but rather **_whom_**."

Lizzie raised an eyebrow at her father before dragging the ice cream back towards her. She busied herself scraping at the sides of the container where the ice cream had started to soften, determined not to meet her father's eyes.

"I don't really want to talk about it," Lizzie replied finally.

"I suspected you would say that," her father chuckled, "Luckily, I've come to this conversation somewhat prepared. Or informed, if you please."

Lizzie's eyebrows drew together in confusion.

"I don't underst—"

"I've seen your videos, dear." Mr. Bennett interrupted.

"Oh," Lizzie replied, her face falling.

"And I must say that Darcy was right when he said that you are a natural story teller. I confess that I watched all of your videos all in one sitting. Lydia's too. They were quite illuminating."

Lizzie blushed at her father's choice of words and busied herself with the ice cream again, before finally meeting her father's eyes. They were the same deep jade colour as her own, and they softened behind the frames of his spectacles when they met his daughter's.

"I know much more than you think I do," he said softly, "and I think I can also identify a broken heart when I see one. So, talk to me, dear."

But Lizzie couldn't. The corners of her had eyes began to sting, and she bit her lip, trying to blink back the tears. Her attempts were futile though, and within seconds she felt the saline course down her cheeks.

"Oh, my dear Lizzie," her father said softly, before pulling his daughter into a tight hug.

Lizzie buried her head in her father's chest, and let the sadness finally consume her. She had tried to ignore her feelings for so long by immersing herself in her thesis, and devoting any spare time she had to Lydia. But the tightness in her chest every time she had thought of Darcy had simply become overwhelming. Mr. Bennet stroked Lizzie's hair gently and murmured "_hush,_" periodically, while holding his daughter in his embrace until the steady flow of her tears gradually began to subside.

Lizzie sat up and swiped at the tears on her face, while Mr. Bennett pulled the ice cream towards them again. He dug out a large scoop, and passed the spoon to his daughter. She accepted it gratefully.

"I just miss everything, you know?" Lizzie sniffed, "I miss San Francisco. I miss Gigi, and Pemberley, and Fitz."

"And you miss Darcy," Mr. Bennet stated.

Lizzie nodded sadly.

"Especially Darcy."

Mr. Bennet patted Lizzie's knee, sealed up the container and returned the ice cream to it's hiding spot at the back of the freezer. He walked back towards his daughter, and placed his hands gently on her shoulders, looking her directly in the eyes.

"My dear girl, the times have changed. If you miss someone, you should just tell them, rather than sitting around and waiting for him to make the first move. Darcy still cares about you – that much is evident through your videos. But you can't expect a man who has already been rejected by you, to put himself out on the line again. I'm sure he's hurting just as much as you are right now. So call him."

"I wouldn't know what to say …"

"It's not the words that matter Lizzie, but the action of reaching out to him. You are both quite similar, you know … You're both very stubborn. My dear, I care about you too much to not be frank with you, so this is the last thing I will say on the matter. If you keep waiting for people to act out the script you have in your head, I promise you that your life will pass before your eyes without anything actually _ever_ happening. Sometimes you have to take a risk, and say exactly what's on your mind. The rest is up to fate."

With those words, he leaned forwards and kissed Lizzie on the forehead, before embracing her in another hug.

"I love you, Papa," Lizzie whispered.

"I love you too, my dear girl," he replied with a smile. "Well, I think your mother's snoring has finally stopped rattling the windows. It's time I went back to bed."

"Goodnight," Lizzie said, watching her father stand up and make his way towards the hallway. Mr. Bennet turned around when he got to the doorframe and spoke again.

"Sometimes, it takes more than just ice cream to fix a broken heart. There is a packet of MnM's hidden in an old coffee jar at the back of the cupboard. Have as many as you need, and think about what I said."

He gave a small wave before disappearing into the darkness of the hallway. Lizzie sat in the silence for a few moments before retrieving the MnM's from her father's hiding place and returning to the couch in the den. Wrapping herself back in the quilt, she opened the bag of chocolate, before skipping back to the chapter of the movie where she left off.

_"_ _So it's not gonna be easy. It's gonna be really hard. We're gonna have to work at this every day, but I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you, forever, you and me, every day…"_


End file.
